OAKMONT, Pa. -- Patrick Reed made only the fourth double eagle since the U.S. Open started keeping records some four decades ago, dunking in his second shot from 286 yards with a 3-wood Thursday on the par-5 fourth hole at Oakmont.
The double eagle put Reed at 2 under after he bogeyed the second hole.
However, the 2018 Masters champion gave all of that back and then some over the next 14 holes, shooting an opening-round 3-over 73, including a triple bogey on the 18th.
"There's 71 other holes we have to play," he said when asked about the albatross. "One hole doesn't mean jack, to be honest with you."
The so-called albatross is considered the rarest shot in golf, with only a few hundred made per year around the world, compared with more than 30,000 holes-in-one.
Reed said it was the third of his career.
Reed looked stunned after he hit a fairway wood onto the green, watched the ball bounce three times and then roll toward the hole. Unsure of where the ball went, he raised his palm to the sky, then pointed downward, asking if it went in.
The applause up at the green gave him the answer.
"Oh, it's awesome. That's great," Reed said. "But I mean, it's kind of one of those things that after you finish with a triple, that's really the last thing you're really thinking about."
Reed joins T.C. Chen (1985 at Oakland Hills), Shaun Micheel (2010 at Pebble Beach) and Nick Watney (2012 at Olympic) as the only players to make an albatross at the U.S. Open since the event started keeping records in 1983.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.